WAJIR, Kenya, June 22 (Xinhua) — At least eight people were killed in the past two days in inter-clan fighting in northern Kenyan as the skirmishes, which started two month ago in Mandera County spread to neighbouring Wajir County.
Four people were killed on Friday evening after two trucks they were travelling in from Nairobi to Moyale were ambushed between Eldas and Buna in Wajir West by suspected Degodia armed men.
Wajir divisional police commander, James Mutungi, said the bandits killed four men, who were heading from Nairobi to Moyale near Eldas, which is 150 kilometers from Wajir town and later burned into ashes the two Lorries with its cargoes on board.
“The bandits, heavily armed with sophisticated weapons commandeered the lorries and ordered the driver to drive out of the highway for four kilometers into a nearby bushes and later ordered passengers to disembark before killing three after been identified being from the rival Garre clan”.
Mutungi said one of the drivers managed to escape on foot, after running for hundreds of kilometers to Wajir town, adding that they believe the attack was a reprisal for last Wednesday killing of three Degodia tribesmen in Buramayow in Tarbaj constituency, which is adjacent to Mandera South district in the troubled Mandera County.
Mutungi said the bodies of the deceased were taken to Moyale town, where they are been buried in accordance to the Islamic teaching and practice.
On Saturday, more than 100 gun men believed to be Garre militias descended on two remote villages in Banisa district and killed four people including a five years old child in a simultaneous twin attacks according to government officials.
Mutungi said a bandit, was also gunned down after security personnel engaged them with fierce gun fight that last for over 40 minutes.
Speaking to the Xinhua on phone from Banisa, the local District Commissioner Sammy Mwati said an elderly woman and two middle aged men were killed in Guba location and a three years child in Jiriko village by the clan bandits who stormed the unsuspecting villagers at 6am (0300GMT).
“The bandits were over 100 and they were all armed, if it were not for the quick response by our brave security personnel who repulsed them on time, we would have talked of more death now,” Mwati said.
“Our officers outgunned them and the killers are now on the run, with our officers on hot pursuit. The bandits are big in numbers, but as I’m speaking to you now they are under siege by our officers backed by General Service Unit (GSU),” he said sounding confidently.
However, in the past the rival clan bandits defied the huge presence of the security personnel and escaped after attacking each other villages.
Meanwhile, more than two thousand people were been displaced in Wajir County as villages along the Wajir-Mandera borders were been hit by tit-for-tat reprisal attacks by clan armed men.
According to the Coordinator of Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) in Wajir County Morris Anyango 2,000 families mainly the venerable women and children stung by brunt of the senseless inter- ethnic killings which spread from Mandera to Wajir county are fleeing from the remote villages into main town and other villages, which has their clan predominance.
“Our rapid assessment report indicates more than 1,000 families were so far displaced from Gunana, Buramayo, Ogorrale and Duntow villages neigbouring Mandera County. And the number is likely to increase if the reprisal attacks continue unabated,” Anyango said.
“The internally displaced persons are fleeing towards Eldas, Zarman and Wajir town. They are not in IDPs camps at the moment, but integrating into their communities. KRCS is coordinating humanitarian assistance to help the displaced families with support of five local NGOs to give them food and shelter,” he said.
Anyango however said about sixty IDPs were currently camping at Zarman primary school after fleeing from their unsafe villages disrupting learning at the school.
He noted that the government has dispersed 300 bags of maize and 600 bags of beans to most vulnerable families saying that many those fleeing families were fatigued from trekking for several kilometres on harsh terrain without water and food.
The fighting pitting the pastoralists Somali sub-clans of Garre and Degodia reignited two months ago after suspected rival clan militia believed to have crossed from the neigbouring Ethiopia killed 8 people and injured more than 20 others.
Both Garre and Degodia have communal presence and have sophisticated armed militia in Ethiopia who has been used in clan fighting in the Horn of Africa country.
Source: shanghaidaily
I feel for these people, always fleeing of war.
